


To Compromise

by ChickadeeChickadoo



Series: To End a War [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Azula gets some help, Da Li - Freeform, Gen, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, It would work better if Katara didn't keep healing them, Long Feng is a horrible human, Mostly he just wants to yell at people, They try to brainwash people, Toph is amused, Zuko is really not the best at negotiations
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:27:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28090014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChickadeeChickadoo/pseuds/ChickadeeChickadoo
Summary: Iroh has sent letter after letter to Ba Sing Se, looking to end the war permanently. They haven't responded... until now.Zuko is an Ambassador.Azula is a spy.And Long Feng wonders... why rule one kingdom when you can have three?(On Hiatus for the next 18 months until I get back from my mission)
Relationships: Azula & Mai & Ty Lee, Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Hakoda & Katara (Avatar), Hakoda & Sokka (Avatar), Hakoda & Zuko (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Mai & Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: To End a War [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1831351
Comments: 88
Kudos: 355





	1. Oh the letters we send

The letters were never long.

Each told the same story.

Each was read, each ignored. And then the letters started… shifting somehow.

_To the Most Illustrious King Kuei,_

_The Fire Nation has perpetuated a war for a hundred years. It is time for this war to be over and peace to reign in its stead. The Fire Nation has made peace with the Water Tribes and the Avatar. We wish to make peace with the Earth Kingdom as well, to fully end the border skirmishes._

_In the name of peace and an end to this war, we ask you to respond._

_Fire Lord Iroh_

_…---…_

_King Kuei,_

_We wish to send an Ambassador to Ba Sing Se to help begin the peace negotiations. Would this be amenable to you?_

_Fire Lord Iroh._

_…---…_

_King Kuei,_

_Every day men die on our borders that don’t need to be fighting. We have stopped advancing. We would be pleased to negotiate a ceasefire._

_Fire Lord Iroh._

…---…

_King Kuei,_

_My nephew, Crown Prince Zuko, is willing to go to the Earth Kingdom to treat with you. The Avatar has agreed to come with him, along with his entourage. Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe has agreed to accompany them, and King Bumi of Omashu sends his regards as well._

Long Feng read the latest of a long, long line of letters with interest. He wondered if the Fire Lord wrote them by hand, or if he’d had a scribe do it. He wondered if the man even noticed when titles started dripping off Kuei’s name until it was simply King Kuei.

Long Feng tapped a finger to his chin, glancing at the letter again. Of course, there were some dangers inherent in letting an Imperial Firebender into Ba Sing Se- Long Feng had seen what the Dragon of the West could do on a battlefield and it had been horrifying.

Still… this presented an opportunity.

Long Feng knew that Iroh was serious about wanting peace. Getting a hold of the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation- well. That was just the icing on the cake.

Long Feng had always been ambitious. And why rule one kingdom when you could rule two?

For the first time since the letters began arriving, he drafted a reply.

…---…

They were having breakfast. It was a bit awkward, with Ursa’s new family and her old one at the same table.

Azula and Kiyi had gotten into an argument and were now in some sort of glaring contest that neither was willing to lose.

Zuko was in the process of eating a single bite of food, adding more spice, taking another bite, then adding more again- as if it was perfectly normal to have more chili on your plate than food.

But he seemed happy, so Iroh couldn’t really complain.

The Avatar and his other teachers were still asleep, excepting Katara who had gone to the infirmary to practice with her water healing.

Iroh had written another letter a week ago- but at this point he hadn’t truly expected a reply.

When the servant came running in, breathing hard, holding a scroll bound in Earth Kingdom green in a trembling hand, Iroh could barely believe it. He opened it eagerly, reading it over.

They’d responded. They’d finally _responded_ … and they’d said _yes_. 

…---…

“How certain are you that this isn’t a trap?” Azula asked.

Her stance showed a casual sort of grace, she looked relaxed… but she could snap into a kata faster than Zuko could blink. 

Zuko glanced at her. “I’m not?” he said.

Azula nodded. “It’s a good thing I’m going with you then.” She said, flicking a piece of hair behind an ear.

Zuko blinked. “You are?”

“Not _with you_ with you,” Azula said, rolling her eyes. “I’ll be in the city, but I’ll go as a refugee with Mai and Ty Lee. That way, no one will know I’m there and when it turns out to be a trap and everything falls to pieces around you I’ll be there to get you out.”

Zuko did like the idea of having backup- though he wasn’t really all that certain that Azula would be reliable backup… she had a nasty habit of starting games, then leaving them to see how long he’d take to realize she wasn’t playing anymore…

Still.

If she was looking to prove herself- she wouldn’t fail at _that_. She was probably trying to secure her position by impressing someone- though it was hard to tell exactly who with Father… dead… and since most people who were higher ranked than her right now cared about Zuko being alive she probably wouldn’t abandon him…

Besides. Aang would be there too, and he was insanely powerful.

It’d be fine.

Everything would be just fine.


	2. The one that is twelfth from the end

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas people. Even if you don't celebrate Christmas, this is my Christmas present to you.

“We got Bumi’s letter.” Katara checked. Sokka nodded.

“We have food.” Sokka nodded again.

Katara hesitated. “Is it all meat?”

Sokka hesitated. Katara made sure to breathe evenly. “Sokka, Aang doesn’t eat meat. He’d starve.”

“I don’t have room for any other food! And I need that meat. He can bring his own food.”

“And the rest of us?” Katara asked.

Hakoda hesitated at the doorway, watching them argue. It was so nice to be with them again. Though it was… very strange to be living in the Fire Nation Palace. Everything was so… red.

“You do realize,” Hakoda said, cutting in, “That we won’t be traveling entirely on Appa? Iroh is sending gifts to help open up negotiations- gifts that Appa can’t carry the whole way- and Appa isn’t big enough to carry all the people who are coming.

“We are going, as much of the journey as we can, by ship. Our ships will be fully stocked, which includes food.”

Katara and Sokka stared at him for a long moment. Then they looked at each other.

It was still odd for them to have support. Hakoda wished they hadn’t ever been alone- he wished that he’d been able to be with them- to support them more.

The war had prevented that in the past, but he could support them now.

…---…

Toph liked the Fire Nation Palace. The thing was huge. No one here actually had the proper authority to tell her what to do.

Not ever the Fire Lord really- she wasn’t a citizen of his nation.

Sure- if he told her to do something and she didn’t he could try to kick her out- but the whole palace was made of stone.

A stupid design really, for a people at war with Earthbenders.

She also liked the people in the palace. Aang was endlessly optimistic- and really quite a horror to teach… at first. He was getting better. Slowly.

Katara was what Toph imagined a mother was supposed to be like- concerned and caring. Caring not only for Toph’s wellbeing- but her interests- for Toph _herself._

Sokka was… Sokka. He was funny and he fell for _all_ of her blind jokes. Most other people had stopped falling for them after a time of two- Sokka just… never stopped. It was amazing.

Iroh- despite the fact that he was the Fire Lord and the Dragon of the West- was also the best teamaker she’d ever met- and he was very willing to share it with anyone who appreciated it.

Mai and Ty Lee- who Azula had dragged in a week ago- well. Toph didn’t know them very well but they were _good_. Together, they might even manage to beat Toph in a fight.

And then there was Zuko. Zuko was awkward. A horrible story-teller. And he was so… determined. He was the kind of person who was loyal enough to do just about anything for those he loved.

He’d probably make a horrible diplomat- so it was a good thing Toph was going.

She was great at pretending to be polite.

…---…

Iroh was very careful in selecting who would go with Zuko on this mission.

The Southern Water Tribe and the Earth Kingdom were already allies, so three of Hakoda’s ships would be accompanying Zuko and Aang.

Toph was an Earth Kingdom citizen- so that wasn’t a problem. Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee were sneaking into the city with fake identification.

With the current relations between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom- that left Iroh with five more people he could add.

Jee was the first. Then Akimo. Katara was a healer- so they wouldn’t need one... Iroh also sent two members of the home guard. They were some of the most talented, and experienced, Fire Benders there were. That he could spare anyways.

Last, but not least- he asked Piandao to go. Piandao had recently taken up Zuko’s training again, and Sokka’s. Iroh thought the man would go but if not… well. It would be a good thing Azula was there to watch Zuko’s back.

Iroh snorted to himself- he never thought he’d believe that…. but he did. Azula had always seemed a little… unhinged. But now- ever since Ozai had died she’d seemed to be doing… better. Still unhinged- but in a less… murderous way.

Iroh prayed.

For Zuko and Aang’s success.

For swift winds on their journey.

For a chance that this war might actually end.

…---…

Zuko hugged Uncle and his mother. He smiled. He listened- as best as he could- to their advice. He boarded the Water Tribe ship. It was the same as he remembered it being.

He managed to keep his smile in place as they left port, though it was becoming increasingly hard to breathe and his hands were shaking.

It wasn’t the same. Zuko _knew_ it wasn’t the same.

Uncle wasn’t sending him away forever- Zuko wasn’t banished- he was an ambassador. Ambassador’s got to come home. He just needed to convince the Earth Kingdom to make peace.

 _Another impossible task._ A little voice in his head whispered- but it wasn’t. Impossible that is.

At least the Earth Kingdom was easy to find- and had been seen in the last hundred years.

Still… it couldn’t help but feel familiar.

Zuko breathed in carefully. It was different this time. He’d make sure it was different this time- because this time he was doing the right thing.

And this time, he would succeed.


	3. If I told you what it was called then I'd have to figure it out first

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They make it to land.  
> Finally.

Aang didn’t like dried Sea Prunes.

Sokka was fine with that. They weren’t meat but they were _good._

Then Sokka decided to trick Zuko into eating one.

Sokka decided soon after that the universe hated him.

…---…

Ships were so _slow_.

Aang couldn’t help but think that it’d be a whole lot faster if he went ahead on Appa.

He could just… go. Katara too, if she wanted. And Sokka. And Toph. And Zuko. They’d get to Ba Sing Se way ahead of everyone else and then they’d have a meeting with the Earth King- they might be able to negotiate a treaty before everyone else even managed to get there! Then the war would just be over and everything would be great!

The only problem was convincing everyone else that it was a great idea.

He could tell Katara first… but Sokka was usually the one who came up with plans. So- probably Sokka first.

…---…

Sokka watched Aang for a long moment. Aang was wearing a broad grin, eyes shining, obviously pleased with his plan.

“So,” Sokka said, “You think the ship is too slow, so you plan on taking Appa and flying an advance party, made almost entirely of children-”

Aang’s smile seemed to melt off his face and Sokka couldn’t help the guilt that stabbed through him. “One of which is Zuko. Zuko, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. I mean- I want to get to Ba Sing Se as fast as I can too but- we can’t just kidnap the guy. Iroh would freak out. _Azula_ would freak out. And I really don’t want to see that happen.”

Aang paled slightly at the mention of Azula, and he didn’t argue any more for his idea. That was good.

Very good. Even if Sokka still kind of felt bad.

…---…

Azula watched Sokka for a long moment after his conversation with Aang.

Then she nodded. “Good choice,” she said, whispering it almost directly into his ear.

Sokka jumped, spinning, and Azula grinned before sauntering away.

…---…

Zuko hated the ocean. And he loved it.

He stood by the railing, almost wishing he was close enough to the water to trail his fingers through it.

He stared out at the horizon, wishing that land would come already.

The faster they got to land the faster they could get home. Zuko wanted to go home. He wanted to order Hakoda to take them back _right now._ But he couldn’t do that. He needed to get all the way to Ba Sing Se. He needed to negotiate peace. He couldn’t go home yet.

He _couldn’t_ go home. Again.

Zuko felt his breath catch.

He couldn’t go home. He wanted to go home. He wanted to go home, and Uncle wasn’t _here_ and why wasn’t Uncle here?

Zuko nearly jumped out his skin when Piandao settled down beside him.

He didn’t say anything and Zuko really wanted him to say something so he could figure out why Piandao was sitting by him.

Zuko opened his mouth to say… something, then closed it again. Yelling at his sword master wasn’t a very good idea.

But what was he _supposed_ to do? Say something? Like what?

Wait for Piandao to speak? Walk away?

“And there’s the people I wanted to see!” A much too cheerful Sokka stood behind them, grinning. “I think it’s time for some sparring.”

He was rubbing his hands together. That wasn’t a good sign. Piandao raised an eyebrow at Sokka. It was a very expressive eyebrow. It managed to say who-do-you-think-the-sword-master-here-is and you-are-bored-out-of-your-mind-right-now-aren’t-you and it-doesn’t-take-much-to-entertain-you-does-it.

Sokka just kept grinning. And a spar didn’t sound _bad_.

…---…

Toph almost wished she hadn’t come. She hated ships.

She was stuck on a wooden monster and she couldn’t see anything. If this was how regular blind people felt all the time… well, they probably learned how to see in other ways. Toph was just glad she had Earthbending.

Zuko had apparently decided it was a good idea to transport a box of dirt along with them that they’d set up below deck. They didn’t want it to blow away in the wind.

It was all fine and good except for the fact that she couldn’t see beyond the box of earth and that she couldn’t really bend with the earth without losing it all.

Flying on Appa had been infinitely better than this. At the end of each day she got a little time on land, and even when they were going over the ocean he’d been faster than the ships were. He was also smaller, one animal with six people on it. She could figure out where they were, and she knew where she was on the saddle.

This was different. This was a ship.

She didn’t know everyone on it. She wouldn’t be able to see if she stepped off her patch of dirt.

At the same time, she couldn’t help but notice that either Aang, Katara, Zuko or Sokka were always with her.

If they’d done it like her parents, she would have hated it. She hated the _hovering_ and the patronizing way they thought she couldn’t handle herself- but this was different. It was almost… comforting.

And then she heard it. “Land ahead!” Someone shouted.

 _Finally,_ Toph thought.

…---…

Long Feng found himself on Ba Sing Se’s walls more often than was probably healthy. He knew the Fire Nation party wouldn’t be here for some weeks yet.

All the same, he couldn’t stop the thrill that went through him when he thought of the upcoming negotiations.

Soon, all the nations would be unified.

And Long Feng would lead them.


	4. The Da Li are creepy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But not because they're brainwashed elsewise they probs wouldn't have followed Azula

As soon as they landed, Azula, Mai and Ty Lee slipped away from the main party. They’d find their own way to Ba Sing Se.

Azula smirked at Zuko, waving lightly. “See you Zuzu,” she said.

And then they were gone.

That was a good thing, as a couple minutes later a group of men, fifteen in all, approached. They wore uniforms of a type Zuko had never seen before. Something about the synchronization of their movements was… unsettling.

They bowed in tandem. Zuko was just glad that only one of them started speaking. All of them saying the same words at the same time would’ve been a little much. “Prince Zuko,” the man in front nodded to Zuko, “Chief Hakoda,” another nod, “The King has sent us to escort you are your party to Ba Sing Se. We welcome you to our kingdom.”

Zuko nodded back with a slight bow, far shallower than the one they’d given him. He was a prince, after all. “We thank you for your hospitality,” he said.

Even if he didn’t want them there. _At all_.

…---…

Toph was too busy happily burying her feet in the dusty earth to pay attention much attention to the weird guys who’d approached them. All Earthbenders. None nearly as good as her.

Then one of the men lied. He’d said “…welcome you to our kingdom.”

So… did that mean they were conflicted? Some of them were welcoming and some not? The King didn’t actually want to bargain with them? This particular man didn’t want them there? Or something else?

…---…

Sokka didn’t particularly enjoy walking. People weren’t supposed to travel by walking. It was fine to walk if you were hunting, but hunting was different than traveling. If you were trying to _get_ somewhere ships and flying bison were really the way to go.

Still, they made good time. The Da Li, as they called themselves, made a weird earth platform thing and were able to swing if forward much faster than the delegation could walk on its own.

The delegation was smaller now than they had been before, the three crazy ladies were gone and they had left quite a few men with the ships, but they were still around thirty strong.

All thirty of them agreed pretty quickly that the Da Li were creepy. There was just something… _off_ about them. Like they didn’t quite know how to smile. Or that people are supposed to get to know each other on long trips. Or that good food was supposed to be enjoyable.

Sokka was fairly certain that they wouldn’t say anything about the food even if he infused it with dung.

They moved as a unit. They were capable.

And Sokka didn’t like them at all.

…---…

The delegation got their own private boat for the crossing.

Zuko suspected that was mostly to keep him from learning about the secret way into the city.

Which they already knew about. Zuko wondered how Uncle seemed to know everything. Zuko wondered if the girls had gotten here before them, and already slipped away to find it with their faked identification papers, or if they were still on the road.

He wasn’t sure exactly what he was hoping for. On the one hand, backup was something he’d missed these past three years. Or maybe it was the last six years. Uncle had been there once he’d been banished but… it was different. Uncle wasn’t back up- he was just… _there_.

Back up was nice. Except… it was _Azula_. For all that he loved her he couldn’t bring himself to trust her.

She’d tried to kill him before. She’d almost succeeded. She’d killed other things, the things she knew he loved. She’d burned his scrolls.

She’d smiled as father burnt his face. He hadn’t seen her himself- but it had been a well-publicized event. A public shaming. And it was public knowledge that his little sister had been smiling as he screamed, as it was public knowledge that the Dragon of the West had looked away.

Zuko wasn’t sure what he thought of Mai and Ty Lee. They were Azula’s friends, not his, they always had been.

But- he’d spent time with Mai before, practicing with different types of steel. It had been… comfortable. He thought he probably trusted her.

Ty Lee smiled to much. It couldn’t- it couldn’t actually be _real_. When he spent time with her he often found himself busy coming up with different reasons for why she kept smiling all the time. It made him anxious. What possible use could it have?

Zuko stepped onto the boat. It was wider than the Water Tribe one’s, obviously mad for storage space rather than speed- and it didn’t really seem much like a boat. More of a barge.

Zuko moved aside to let everyone else on, and they joined, some with more grace then others.

They were close now. They’d talk to the Earth King. They’d come to an agreement.

And then Zuko could go home.

…---…

Long Feng prepared as much as he was able. They’d need to do this very, very carefully.

The Prince and the Chief would still need to act like themselves, but some key ideologies would likely need to change.

Would supplanting their base loyalties work? It could be done but it usually took a little more… fiddling with memories. Erasing.

They’d need to remember things.

 _You are loyal to Long Feng above all others._ That might work- it left a bit of wiggle room- room for other loyalties- but they couldn’t be seen changing too much…

He’d need to study them closely before he came up with the perfect phrases.

He glanced at the date. The whole city seemed to thrum with repressed excitement.

Soon. They’d be here soon.


	5. The Next One

_Jet left the body of an old man in the woods. He didn’t let the younger kids get too close to it. He couldn’t bring himself to bury it though- no one from that nation of ashmakers deserved his respect._

_…---…_

_Jet waited and watched and waited some more. His reservoir filled. Patrols went out in the woods, looking for the old man._

_Jet tried to make sure they never came out again._

_…---…_

_Jet blew the dam. The town flooded. The water reached the trees, but not high enough to threaten his Freedom Fighters. At least, not physically._

_He couldn’t hide all the bodies that floated by, some so very tiny. Some so very broken._

_The water retreated._

_And his Freedom Fighters slunk away with haunted eyes. They all left him._

_All except for two._

_Smellerbee and Longshot stayed with him. Traveled with him. Drug him away from the ruined city and the broken corpses he’d made._

_They drug him all the way to Ba Sing Se._

…---…

Azula did not appreciate this food. It was disgusting.

She didn’t eat it. Mai threw hers over the side of the ship. Ty Lee handed hers off to some little boy who looked far to eager to have slop.

Azula hesitated for a long moment. She was fairly certain though that there was good food on this slimy excuse of a boat _somewhere_.

A boy, probably around Zuko’s age, settled in beside her. “I hear the captain eats like a king,” he said softly, “While all of us starve.”

Azula refrained from setting him on fire for the audacity he had in sitting beside her. He didn’t know- and she _was_ supposed to be a refugee. They probably made strange friendships over stealing food all the time.

As it turned out, stealing the food wasn’t difficult. They were toasted as heroes for it.

Odd.

…---…

Sokka liked the Earth Kingdom palace, but he had to admit that the Fire Nation palace looked cooler.

Their party had been given guest rooms within the palace itself. Sokka figured that the guest rooms were probably used for Earth Kingdom dignitaries who visited, but the quarters were nice so it didn’t really matter who they’d been made for.

Even if he had to share the room, it was probably bigger than his home back in the South Pole.

It made him feel almost bad for Zuko and Hakoda, who the only ones who got private rooms. Sokka had had a private room back at the Fire Nation palace but it hadn’t been so big or so… oppressive.

Still, even though he didn’t want a whole room to himself he was kind of offended that it hadn’t even been an option.

It made a sort of sense, since Zuko and Hakoda were the highest ranked in the group they got the private rooms, but Sokka didn’t see how Zuko was higher ranked than him.

He was Iroh’s nephew, not his son. But apparently Crown Prince of the Fire Nation was cooler than Son of the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe.

When even the Earth Kingdom was biased against the Water Tribes… well.

Rude.

…---…

Negotiations were supposed to start the morning after they arrived.

It _was_ the morning after they arrived and the King wasn’t even there. Instead, his chief advisor Long Feng was sitting at the table, along with five Earth Kingdom generals.

That was probably a good thing- generals would be the ones commanding the ceasefire.

But why hadn’t the King come himself?

If this was the Fire Nation there would probably be all sorts of insults implicit in the Fire Lord not showing up to sign a peace treaty but Zuko wasn’t all together sure how the Earth Kingdom worked.

He’d sold stuff to Earth Kingdom Citizens when he’d been pretending to be a merchant- but he’d never really lived among them. He’d been a prince then a crown prince then a ship captain and now he was an ambassador, but he still didn’t know how people worked.

Iroh should have let Azula take charge of the negotiations while Zuko snuck into the city. Zuko was good at sneaking. It would have been fine.

Should have been didn’t help though. Zuko was here and Azula wasn’t. So Zuko would negotiate as best he could.

Zuko sat down. Hakoda, Aang, Piandao, Sokka, Bato, Katara, Toph and Jee found their way into seats as well.

That meant there were six Earth Kingdom negotiators, three Fire Nation, four Southern Water Tribe, one Avatar, and one Toph.

It wasn’t exactly _even_ but it wasn’t exactly supposed to be.

Long Feng smiled at them as they sat down, his gaze lingering on Zuko and Hakoda.

Creepy.

“Are we ready to begin?” he asked.

“Isn’t the Earth King coming?” Aang asked and Zuko kept himself from wincing with effort. Aang was actually innocently asking that question.

Zuko sighed to himself.

Long Feng’s smile seemed strained. “The King is in charge of preserving the culture of our nation, not running day to day tasks.”

A puppet then. How nice.

Aang didn’t seem particularly happy about it, but he settled back.

And the negotiations began.


End file.
